Amazing Arizona Comic Con to attempt Guinness world record

If you are attending the 2014 Amazing Arizona Comic Con, this Jan. 24-26, you might just witness history being made as the coordinators behind this annual event attempt to break three different Guinness world records over the course of the weekend.

The AACC record attempts include: 1) Fastest time to produce a comic book; 2) Most contributors on a single comic book; and 3) Fastest time to publish a comic book. Their goal is to create and print the comic and to have it on sale by the Sunday of the convention. (It’s unclear whether breaking three records at the same time constitutes another record. What about it Guinness?)

Proceeds from the comic’s sales will go towards benefiting the Hero Initiative, a nonprofit organization that helps out comic creators in need, providing “a financial safety net for yesterdays’ creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work.”

Amazing Arizona Comic Con organizer and promoter, Jimmy Jay, took a few minutes out of his very busy schedule to answer a few questions for NERDVANA about the upcoming show and Guinness world record attempts:

According to the Guinness website, the record for the most contributors is 62 people (special edition of Mark Millar’s “Superior” in 2011); how many creators do you hope to involve?

The Record which was set in the UK for ‘Superior’ at the KaPow! show was eclipsed by a team in Argentina just seven months later. 81 contributors is now the new benchmark. We are looking to raise the bar with over 101 artists and 25 writers. Given the deep talent pool at the Amazing Arizona Comic Con, I know we can pull this off with a fair amount of coordinating, juggling, and some blood, sweat and tears.

Are the “fastest time to produce” and “fastest time to publish” records considered “new” records by Guinness? (I could not find current record holders on their website.)

The Record for the ‘fastest to produce’ stands at 11 hours, 19 minutes, 38 seconds. We would like to get well under this mark. As for publishing with this finished product, and [we] don’t think anyone has been crazier than us, [we’re] trying to go to market with a full print run just a few hours after completion.

Will the Guinness people be on-hand to observe and will there be a ceremony if the record(s) are broken?

The Attempt at the world record will be recorded on several cameras in the designated area. All rules and regulations set forth from Guinness will be followed with our submission. As for a completion ceremony – after the attempt I think everyone working on the event will be going to Copper Blues in downtown Phoenix to celebrate with a Pint of Beer.

On Sunday, January 26, with books in hand, I hope we can gather as many contributors as possible for a group photo. It would be fitting to do this in the very place the world breaking comic is produced, on the main floor of the Amazing Arizona Comic Con.

What kinds of talent (names) do you currently have lined up to participate in the record attempt?

Jesse James and Shawn Demumbrum have been hard at work wrangling the best local AZ Talent for the event, and I know they will be working the main hall and artist alley coordinating with creators. As the convention organizer though, I have reached out to our headline and featured guests so don’t be surprised to see many of the top writers and artists in our industry contribute as well, from the cover art to the interiors too.

Do you know if the comic will be an original title, or a special edition of an existing title?

The Comic produced will be a completely original title, with characters and plot lines being created on the floor, at the event – a creative jam session if you will.

Will attendees be able to observe the process over the course of the weekend?

Attendees will be able to observe both the creative process and the actual production on the convention floor. We have designated an area that will be ‘roped offed’ where all official record breaking business takes place. And the fans get to see it all.

The World Record Attempt is a very passionate piece of the programming at the Amazing Arizona Comic Con. Jesse James and Shawn Demumbrum from SpazDog Press approached our event with a bold plan. Given the core values at Amazing, where we put comic books and comic creators above all else, it just seemed like a natural fit. We are extremely pleased and very thankful for the Arizona Pro/Am artist community and fans for this opportunity.